It's my favorite time of year again – Autumn. It gets colder, the days get shorter, leaves change colors, and there's that little annual event called PASS Summit. This year I have even more reasons to love it because I was able to work 2 more events into my trip: SQL Saturday Oregon and [Red Gate's SQL in the City][3] …

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This year Chicago will be hosting it's 5th SQL Saturday! SQL Saturday #291: Chicago 2014 is now open for registration! As always, the event itself is free. An optional lunch will be provided for $10. We are once again very grateful to DeVry University for hosting us. This year it will take place on Saturday April 26, …

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Just a quick note that the PASS Summit 2014 Early Bird rate of $1095 ends Friday 6 December. You don't have to look very hard to find lots of [blog posts][2] about how PASS Summit is an [amazing experience][3] at any price, but this is a great opportunity to save $1200 off the full registration rate. Starting Saturday …

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Portillo's beef sandwiches are best when the entire sandwich is dipped in gravy so the bread becomes gelatinous. (Used with permission) SQL Saturday #211: Chicago 2013 is approaching quickly! I've gotten a few emails inquiring about what food will be served, and I'm very happy to announce that lunch for this year's SQL …

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I am very happy and honored to have been chosen as a presenter at SQL Saturday #206 coming up on April 6, 2013 in Madison, Wisconsin! As I previously mentioned I had a wonderful time there last year and am definitely looking forward to heading back. This time around I'll be giving a new presentation on tuning backups …

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Where can you find deep dish pizza, questionable politics, amazing architecture and a great SQL Saturday all in one stop? Sweet Home Chicago! The organizing committee in the windy city has been hard at work, and SQL Saturday #211: Chicago 2013 is open for registration. This year the event will be taking place on …

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This past weekend I was very fortunate to be able to attend and speak at SQL Saturday #118 in Madison, Wisconsin. This was a top-notch event; all the hard work and planning that went into it really showed in how smoothly things ran. My trip began around noon on Friday, which was a great decision because I hit no …

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Imagine you had the chance to get together with other data professionals in your area in a setting outside of a training session or user group meeting. There's no formal agenda, just an excellent meal and some great conversation. Perhaps a respected expert is available to answer questions and bounce ideas off of. Does …

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I feel very fortunate to have been chosen as a speaker for SQL Saturday #118 in Wisconsin on April 21, 2012. After an excellent time speaking at MADPASS in February, I'm really looking forward to getting back to Madison for this event! I'll be giving my presentation entitled The Skinny on Data Compression which covers …

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Next Wednesday I'll have the pleasure of speaking at MADPASS! I've been meaning to visit this group for a while, so I'm very excited to head up there and be speaking. Here's all the pertinent info: WHERE: 2310 Crossroads Drive, Madison, WI 53718 WHEN: Wednesday, February 22, 2012. 5:30 PM I’ll be giving one of my …

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